Enterprise mobility drives rise in two-factor authentication

Security concerns are still a significant impediment to mobility, with two-factor authentication (2FA) becoming an increasingly important part of the cybersecurity toolkit.

According to research from Gemalto, 2FA is becoming increasingly common as a method of protecting against such breaches. 38 percent of respondents use 2FA to protect resources, with this figure set to rise to 51 percent in two years.

When it comes to external users such as contractors, 57 percent already use it.

In addition, 92 percent of respondents have at least one application protected by 2FA.

When deciding on 2FA, 54 percent saw the CIO making the final decision with 39 percent suggesting that the CIO would be involved.

The report also shed some light on different forms of authentication. 29.32 percent on average of users within respondents’ organisations currently use biometric authentication for mobility, while 40.65 percent think that they will in 2 year’s time.

These figures rise for hardware tokens to 35.28 percent and 44.26 percent respectively, and for software tokens to 36.89 percent and 46 percent.

The research also revealed that 92 percent of IT departments are limiting access to resources through mobile.

Despite 97 percent believing that mobility is important for their organisations’ working practices, 95 percent are facing obstacles to increasing mobility.

The survey revealed significant concern over security, with 94 percent concerned that their organisation would be breached or hacked due to credential theft or compromise.

This comes at a time when hacks are becoming increasingly high-profile, with TalkTalk recently falling victim to an attack.